Health Insurance Conversations with our Parents

As we get older our parents are also getting older. No news here. But as part of what is called the "Sandwich Generation" we eventually have to accept that our parents are not as on top of things as they once were. We need to have the gentle conversations about their health and what their insurances they have to avoid costly and care altering surprises later on.

There are a few simple questions we can ask so we can help them with their health care.

1) What type of insurance do you have through Medicare?

There are 2 types of insurance: Medicare Advantage and Medigap.

Medicare Advantage is a private insurance that handles their care. It involves copayments, coinsurance, a network of doctors and prior approvals for care. This type is similar to the kind of health insurance we have. It is very good insurance, but providers have to get approvals for care which may have to be navigated by you if your parents are gravely ill or incapacitated. Why having a Healthcare Power of Attorney is essential to be in place before their health coverage changes.

Medicap is secondary to Medicare. Medicare is primary to this coverage and handles all the care approvals. There is no network of doctors so it is very user friendly, but the premiums can be $300 to $400 a month, which can be expensive for some individuals.

2) Can I have copies of their insurance cards?

Gather their insurance cards, including their Medicare card and store them in a safe place. In a healthcare crisis, knowing where these documents are ahead of time is one less thing to worry about. The agent who helped them may be unavailable or no longer in business, leaving you unsure where to turn when you need help.

I encourage you to have these conversations with your parents as soon as possible. We scramble to help our clients' children with care and care questions when we can. Having a gameplan in place beforehand will save you time and stress in an already stressful health crisis.